Welcome to the world of DI Ridpath. After a serious brush with melanoma that forced him to take nine months off work, he’s ready to return to his post – but his boss has decided to sweep him into the long grass. His crime? Being ill on the job. Shunted into a new role as […]
This was my introduction to ‘Sunshine Noir’, which is apparently similar to Nordic Noir but set in brighter, sunnier climes, specifically, in ‘Facets of Death’, in Botswana. I am late to the party, both to the subgenre and to the world of Detective Kubu, but I’m glad to have finally investigated this treasure. Speaking of […]
‘Call me Magda’, invites Mary Magdalene, and I’ll tell you the truth about Jesus and I… Mary Magdalene has been the subject of much discussion in the two thousand odd years since she, Jesus and Jesus’ disciples preached in ancient Galilee. Now, in Ursula Werner’s modern retelling of Mary’s life, ‘Magda’ gives readers her own […]
Vultures and elephants, murder and corruption. What more could a book need? Ok, it’s only one elephant, but a very clever one. Meet Ganesha, a young and ingenious companion for (former) Inspector Chopra, sent to him by his missing uncle, for reasons unknown. Chopra owns a detective agency and this was my first introduction to […]
‘I’m not a romantic you know. I never was.’ Charlotte Lucas’ well-known rejection of Elizabeth Bennett’s emphasis on romantic love is put to the test in this re-imagining of the world of Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Could Elizabeth have been wrong in her prediction that Charlotte will regret her choice of husband? Readers of […]
“She’s not my mum…” When Jess hears these four words, whispered by a young girl in her local park, it sets her mind into overdrive. Why would Daisy lie? What might her mother, Morag, be hiding? Jess is determined to find out… What’s it about? Secrets. Suspicions. Trauma. From early on, in chapters subtitled ‘Before’, […]
It begins with a phone call…and it ends with a murder. TLDR: I loved this book. If you’re a fan of crime thrillers, you should probably read it. Oh how I do love an unreliable narrator and a narrative unwrapped in gradual layers until what you thought you knew lies in tatters. What’s it about? […]
Four victims. Four different locations. One strange mark on the bodies and one geographical link: all were born in Voineasa. In this slim Romanian noir novel, trained killer Sergiu Manta and police inspector Marius Stanescu are forced to work together to find out how these four disparate deaths are connected. Sergiu has his orders and […]
Ok, I’ll admit it. When my daughter brought this home from the school library, I snaffled it. I mean, I let her read it first, obviously. I had fond memories of reading Ibbotson’s ‘Journey to the River Sea’ when I was teaching English and, when my daughter read the first few pages aloud to me, […]
You made a mistake. But they’re saying it’s murder. As taglines go, this one is definitely an eye-catcher, even an eyebrow-raiser. But does it keep its implicit promises, of drama, tension and thrills? I’m pleased to report that it certainly does. What’s it about? I’m going to pinch the blurb for this one: Every Monday, […]